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Monthly Archives: August 2014

The country’s biggest bank State Bank of India is facing the blues of insurgency in Garo Hills region of Meghalaya. Its employees working in the forested and militancy-infested region are dying to get transferred out. They are caught between their obligation to job and right to have a safe and secured life. The government miserably failed to ensure the latter while the bank wants them not to compromise with the job. Recent abduction of two employees of the bank created quite a flutter in the bank’s administration. Although the bank has reopened most of its branches after release of its employee Subodh Kumar Mishra, the authorities are considering merger of some of the ‘non-productive’ branches. Non-productive in the sense that ratio of money deposit is very less in these branches due to a sense of lack of security. Though the SBI came to limelight due to the back-to-back kidnapping, the scene is the same in other few nationalized and commercial banks operating in the region.

Banking is a very important tool for development. History of modern banking is traced to Italy in the 14th century while the first Garo might have heard of a bank not before 20th century. Such is the gap that if Garo Hills hopes to match with Europe one day, there is no option but to accept banks with open arms let alone kidnapping their officials. Without banking, the modern society cannot grow and light of progress cannot reach backward regions like Garo Hills. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said he wanted to see every citizen of the country to have a bank account. Modi’s message, it seems, has not reached the so-called militant groups of the region. They are yet to realise that a bank can make a lot of difference to an area. It can promote entrepreneurship, which is nearly missing in the region except for that of the militant groups. Other than their ‘business’ of kidnapping and demanding ransom and killing in the name of protecting rights of indigenous people, very few things are going right in the region.

The biggest responsibility in bringing progress and peace lies with the government. But, since the government comprises people from the society, it is not free from the influence of the social mindset which is still skeptical of accepting professionals from outside. Still, it is for the government to create the positive atmosphere for professionals, irrespective of their place of origin, to work for betterment of the region.

Influence of ‘outsiders’ is visible in every civilization. There is no golden era in history in any part of the world without outsiders’ contribution. Every developed society has a history of influence of outsiders. The glaring example is 500-year-old America, discovered by Columbus. The ‘discovery’ has changed the history of the twin continent and the world as well. The original Indians would not have been able to take the region, at least the US, to this present level. Migrated population from Middle-East had a major contribution towards building Europe. The Jews – despite Hitler nearly eliminated the race – are still considered a formidable race across Europe and America holding affairs of the world. In India, the small kings of broken kingdoms would not have been able to create the mighty image the Mughal gave to the country.

Yet, they hate ‘outsiders’. There are reasons. Outsiders plundered resources and undermine rights of aborigines. But the concept of outsiders has undergone a lot of change in the past centuries. Gone are the days when a race shifted their base to another region or invaded another race. People’s movement from place to place for non-military purpose increased in India since the British era. They have major contribution towards changing the face of many untouched parts of the north-eastern region. The region’s mostly hill states saw outsiders (Indians) coming along with the British to build roads, setup office, do logging, mining etc.

Outsiders are still coming, many more times the movement of people from this region towards the rest of the country. Now, should the indigenous people complain always about violation of rights? Should they always ignore the fact that present shape of their respective state is mostly because of the contribution of outsiders in the past decades or centuries? Or it is that they are developed and self-sufficient now and no need of the outsiders anymore. If not entirely, such kind of a feeling has developed in many parts of the region. Meghalaya’s Garo Hills region has seen numerous attacks on non-tribal people, who have their origins in the plains, in the past several months. The sentiment is already rife in Khasi-Jaintia region where incidents of torture and harassment on outsiders are plenty. Though a kidnapped bank official was released in Garo Hills by his captors recently, there is nothing much to cheer because his family might have ‘bought’ his freedom. If history is anything to go by, Meghalaya is at a crossroads with options of choosing between indigenous rights and development.

‘ISI hand’ had rescued many governments in India at times of crises. There used to be a common first reaction – ISI hand, foreign hand – from political heads about any violent incident. The statement, whether true or not, serves an immediate purpose of disillusioning the public about perpetrators of the crime. The local government is saved from embarrassment, by passing the buck to the Central government or a neighbouring country. However, a lot of such claims about ISI hand or foreign hand had later proved to be hollow statements. Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma’s statement blaming a Garo militant outfit of being hand in glove with the ISI for killing migrant labourers is also seen as a hurried remark. Opposition parties, thinking Sangma had no evidence to prove his claim, had even demanded an NIA probe into the so-called between the ISI and the breakaway faction of the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC-B).

True or not, the controversy over the ISI hand – after the BSF’s claim that Meghalaya’s militant groups do not have links with the Pakistan’s spy agency – has exposed the futility having so many intelligence agencies. While the chief minister had quoted state intelligence sources to claim ISI’s link with the ANVC-B, the frontier force asserted that the agency had no role in activities of the rebel outfits of Meghalaya especially those in Garo Hills. Though it appears to be a mere difference between two sets of intelligence agencies, the consequences of such a trend could be dangerous. It is certain that one of the two groups is wrong on the matter. Informers of the intelligence agencies could have supplied the wrong information. There may be another agenda behind supplying the wrong information.

Such wrong information, especially those from government agencies, helps the government to divert the issue. The issue of catching and punishing the culprit, who perpetrates any violence, take a backseat while more talks could be seen about “who’s behind”. It could be ISI or anybody. But the elected government’s main role is to find out the person or the group, before pointing towards “ISI hand”. The culprits must be brought to book. The local government’s responsibility should not end at telling the people about ISI or foreign hand. The government’s primary job is to provide security to the people, who pay for feeding the nation’s combat and intelligence forces.

Outsiders always carry along a bigger security risk in any rural or semi-urban areas in the world. A good soul entering some virgin Amazon forest with the sole intent of just knowing them will not be accepted easily. Locals always look at new faces with skepticism. The trend is intense with indigenous tribals. Most of them feel entry of any outsider into their territory an impingement on their rights. And why not, they have in their subconscious minds the history of bloody invasions of thousands of years. If not war, the current presence US in middle-east countries and that of China in African and Latin American nations do not have any holy intention. Such presence of outsiders, however, brings immense benefit for the respective regions and nations. The current status of India is unimaginable without the British coming to rule here over 400 years ago.

The ratio of migration is more among people or race with wider exposure to the world. In the globalised world, hardly any corner is left untouched by migration. They migrate on different accounts – on job assignments, in search of jobs, to look for trade opportunities etc. Most migrations have financial reasons. The outsider earns a living, of course by serving the foreign soil. On many occasions, an outsider is preferred over a local due to the former’s less social obligations which makes him deliver more towards the job. But, at the same, the outsider runs the risk of being the first target of social evils. Local criminal gangs or so-called militant groups often target them and do not touch locals fearing bigger repercussions. On one hand, the outsider is appreciated for better work efficiency, while on the other, he bears the brunt of perennial local issues. The kidnapping of two bank officials in the backward Garo Hills region of Meghalaya is a case in point.

The kidnappings – five of the particular bank have been abducted this year itself, according to an official – targeting the non-indigenous communities have been carried out with a strategy not to invite the public wrath. Everyone – from militants to political leaders – care about ‘public sentiment’. There has been no visible concern so far from the main political parties over the kidnappings, let alone any protest. These parties used to be very vocal when it comes to complex issues such as influx and demographic change. The outsiders’ fate is to run such risks till they moved into bigger cities where identity issues do not get prominence.

It was always there, but, may be, the time was not ripe for the leadership crisis in Meghalaya to raise its ugly head, once again. The Mukul Sangma ouster move was at its peak a couple of months before the Lok Sabha elections this year. Elections were a savior for the so-called dictatorial chief minister. The Congress did not want to make a further dent in its image by effecting changes in the leadership in Meghalaya. However, the decision did not prove beneficial since the party could not wrest Tura seat from Purno Sangma despite strong hope and Mukul Sangma’s rigorous election campaign for young Daryl William Momin. However, much to the chief minister’s relief, the fight among the Congress leaders did not come out in the open immediately after the election. Probably, no leader in the dissident group took the courage to take on the articulate leader. But the fire was always there, within. And, the flames are visible now.

Besides the lack of an alternative for Mukul Sangma in the Congress, the dissidents had another major weak point – there was no serious and specific fault in his governance. Even if there are some fault lines like his ‘undue’ protection to Ampareen Lyngdoh even after the CBI naming her in the education scam and the Supreme Court case against his ‘controversial’ ST status, none in the Congress dare raised these issues since they might boomerang. Post election, the dissidents could have raised a hue and cry over the party’s defeat in Tura, but the party’s national humiliation did not leave any room for them to speak ills about Mukul Sangma before Sonia Gandhi or any other AICC leader.

There was no strong weapon with the dissidents against the chief minister till the ban on coal mining by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) changed the political scene. On a careful observation, there exist two conglomerates working for the interest of the mine owners and traders against the NGT ban. Both the organizations, with strong representations from Jaintia Hills, raised the same issue before the government but on different platforms. They never met together. Chief minister Mukul Sangma wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemption for the state from NGT’s purview. A few days later, a Congress delegation (without Mukul) went to meet the President with the same demand. All these show a vertical split in the Congress. But for a leadership change to take place, a lot of political equations have to be solved behind closed doors. They don’t have any connection to public interest, but only personal interest. Helpless people can just wait and watch how their elected representatives are spending public money and time in fighting for their chairs.

Bandh is back, again. Meghalaya is facing the second bandh over the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban on ‘rat-hole’ coal mining in the state. The first was called by the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) around a month ago, saying the bandh has affected the livelihood of the indigenous people. This time, the bandh was called by the ‘Meghalaya State Coordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners and Dealers’ Forum’ to protest the state government’s ‘failure’ in abiding by the NGT directive in assessing the already extracted coal and forming guidelines to transport the mineral. Both the bandhs were apparently called for different reasons, but actually they are the same voice – against ban on coal mining. Both want the ban on mining be lifted and the trade allowed to carry on as it was, no matter what would be the impact on the environment.

With a new forum calling the bandh on August 6, people are a little confused about how to respond to it. There is hardly anyone who responds to a bandh call in its true sense i.e. by supporting the so-called cause of the bandh. Most of the people, especially in capital city like Shillong, either take advantage of the bandh or keep indoors apprehending trouble. Some do not come out because they think there would be no business for them that day. Thus one section makes assumption about others and responds to bandh calls accordingly.

HNLC has a track record of calling bandhs frequently, next to NGOs like the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Garo Students’ Union (GSU), Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) and others. People normally go by the name of the organization while deciding their response to the bandh. This time, however, they would have to make a decision on the ‘cause’ – protest against NGT ban. The miners’ forum is too new to make an impact in the minds of the people but still holds ground since it has stakeholders from across the state. Most importantly, some of the stakeholders are Who’s Who of the state. The ‘success’ of the bandh also depends on the stand of the above-mentioned NGOs on the matter. They, however, are yet to make their stand clear on the bandh although the KSU and many other NGOs had earlier voiced concern over the loss of livelihood of the indigenous people due to the NGT ban. It is high time people asked themselves whether they personally support the ‘cause’ of any bandh before deciding to remain indoors and also whether they really want any bandh, for whatever reasons, at all.

The decision of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to continue the ban on coal mining in Meghalaya was not unexpected, even for the coal mine owners. The miners’ concern has been disposal of the already extracted coal lying in the open for almost three months. Although the tribunal gave relief to them by withdrawing the ban on transportation of the coal, there are a lot of pre-conditions. The coal traders will have to wait for another two weeks for an official committee to formulate guidelines for transportation of the coal. Even if allowed, they cannot transport the coal in an easy-going manner like in the past. Penalising any miner for violations was a far cry due to strong influence of the mining lobby in the government. Keeping in view the ‘free trade’ in the past, the NGT’s order that removal of coal must be done under ‘strict adherence of the guidelines’ might not be very encouraging for the miners.

There were two important developments a day ahead of the NGT’s crucial hearing in Shillong. First, the miners did a show of strength mobilizing thousands of people on the streets of the state capital. The protesters shouted slogans against the tribunal, a rarely witnessed outcry against a constitutional authority in any part of the country. Political parties and leaders besides the ruling governments are normally blamed for the people’s plight, not any legal institution like the NGT. One reason for the Shillong phenomenon might be lack of awareness on legal authorities, who cannot and should not act in political and popular considerations. The other might be the people’s prolonged frustration with the ‘biased’ stand of legal authority that they could not wait any longer to raise voice against it openly. The second reason does not stand any ground since the NGT order was issued barely three months ago and the so-called drastic impact of the ban on ‘livelihood of lakhs of people’ lacks credible evidence.

The second happening a day ahead of the hearing was chief minister Mukul Sangma’s letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemption for the state from the purview of the NGT, ‘as per a provision in the Sixth Schedule’. The chief minister’s letter seems to be just a move to appease the miners, whose money plays a vital role in every election in Meghalaya. The Prime Minister cannot interfere into the judicial matters – Mukul Sangma knows it very well. The best way out is to take corrective measures so as not to harm the environment in future and approach the NGT for withdrawal of the ban.